PEDIGREE IN DAIRY CATTLE.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 29, Issue 39, 22 May 1917, Page 7

PEDIGREE IN DAIRY CATTLE.

In purchasing a cow or heifer her pedigree should be examined, because there are as many, poor pedigree dairy animals as good ones. Farmers are too prone to believe that all pedigree stock is necessarily good, but ths does not necessarily follow. Eligibility to registration in most cases is not based upon production or individual excellence, but upon purity of breeding. The fact that purity of breeding in so many cases Is the sole requisite for registration has made it possible for many animals to enter I the dairy herd register which by nature are more of a meat breed. In the purchase of pure-bred stock, therefore no judicious selection can be made from a mere list of names of individuals, unless we know of the production and individual excellence of the animals represented in the pedigree. When purchasing a pure-bred cow or heifer, we should know the record of her dam, as well a s that of her sire’s dam, and if these are right as to milk and butter fat, the further back these records can be traced the more valuable the animal. The chief and important advantage of pure-bred animals lies iu the fact that they are capable of transmitting their own qualities to their offspring with a far greater degree of certainty than is the case with animals of promiscuous breeding. This emphasises the importance 0 f purchasing! only the best when purchasing pure-bred stock because an inferior pure-bred animal cannot be expected to breed anything but inferior stock, while common or inferior stock may beget fair individuals occasionally. The external points of a good sire are indicated by bright, prominent eyes, far apart ; a masculine head and neck ; deep, broad chest ; deep, capacious barrel ; soft, loose hide ; clean bone ; large and well placed rudimentaries (teats) ; and a general spareness of flesh, especially in the region of the shoulders, thighs and hip hones. From the shoulders backwards the dairy bull should have the same general outline possessed by the dairy cow. He should have an active, graceful style, showing that abundance of vigour so necessary in a good breeder. The prevalence of tub°rculosig, contagious abortion, and other contagious diseases is largely attributable to the lack of attention to the health of the animals when purchased. It is recklessness to purchase dairy animals without making rigid inquiry as to their freedom from tuberculosis and contagious abortion. Yet there are many purchasers who do not even inquire about these diseases, much less make investigation, such, for example, as making a tuberculin test.— New Zealand "Dairyman.”